The Open

Any predictions? Leader on 9 under. Not really what I want to see, ie. a serene Sunday afternoon course destroying round Hope the course bares it's teeth. That's what I like about The Championship, it's usually a titanic struggle.

That's not the "The" open...it's "The Other" open...lol j/k

After seeing Stricker demolish the Deere classic, I think he should come in pretty confident.

Mikelson is always a good bet and if Tiger can find his Chi, he could do it. Then there's big Ern...he's been playing well. I think Ernie might actually be the favorite?

What do you think Chris?

Hope the course bares it's teeth.

But it is Links golf. The teeth would be the crappy weather, otherwise it is a scorers paradise.

The weather will get cr@p. It's the British Isles. Bet on it. Ernie always plays well at the Open AND he has been playing well (back 2 back wins,in real contention at Pebble Beach etc). So hard to call it these days. Anybody in the top 50 can win. Westwood might be a good bet. Forget about Mickelson. This is not his playground.
Maybe a nice howling wind for a couple of days will sort things out?

^^ That'll do it...

it would be great to see daly keep it together, unfortunately he probably wont. although, he did lip out 3-4 putts that everybody thought he had in the bag. either way i was stoked to find it on live when i got home from work, theres nothing better than being glued to the tv until 4:30 am.

Even with all the crap going on in his life I think Tiger is still odd's on fav. His putting looked pretty good and when hes hitting putts hes dangerous. Glad to see JD in the mix hope even if he doesn't win he can turn in a respectable finish.

As for the scores if it stays this wet expect more low scores it needs to dry out some too see the real open

TIger is Tiger but he has looked real shaky since the bomb got dropped on him. Def. not the Tiger we are all use too. I was surprise at what he threw up on the leader board today.

I am a Mich. fan and would love to see him win it, but like stated above, its not his type of course. I think he as only had 1 top 5 in the British in his career.

I would really like to see a US player win it though, the Euro contiginent has done well in the PGA this year. Was it 4 or 5 non-US winners in a row a couple weeks back. But if the BIg Easy wins, I could get behind him. Just love his swing. Could watch it all day long.

It is def. the type of tourny you want to see the winner at like +1, not -10.

I think Tiger is right where he needs to be. Lee Westwood has been playing his arse off as of late. But if Rory continues that kind of play, it's over.

Love to see JD on the leader board.

If the wind comes up (supposed to blow 20-30mph tomorrow) I like the guys who have the least moving parts in their swing, ie, Tiger, Rory, Ernie. If it doesn't, it's a putting contest.

Poor Phil, that swing will never hold up in any type of British Open conditions. Too loose. He'll win another Masters or 2 and maybe another PGA before he's through, but I feel US Open and British Open victories will elude him.

Got my wish. 40 mph winds. Lol,talk about sruggling.

GO JD...! Love that dude!

St. Andrews bears it's teeth. Another day like today, Louis O. will come back to the field. If they have benign conditions tomorrow, that guy may run away with it. If Tiger can make any putts over the weekend, he should be 3 for 3 at St. Andrews since he became pro.

is it just me or it the Open TV coverage horrible. Why can't the camera follow the ball? They show the pro hitting his approach shot, buy half the time you never see where the heck the balll lands. Its like this every year.

^^ It's because of the 30-40mph crosswinds and the discoloration of the turf.

The ball flight tracker on the 17th tee box is sweet though

"is it just me or it the Open TV coverage horrible. Why can't the camera follow the ball? They show the pro hitting his approach shot, buy half the time you never see where the heck the balll lands. Its like this every year."

There are not any trees or mountains or anything to use as a point of reference. The only background is the sky, which when it is sunny, it is hard to pick up on the ball.

AMO. Could you possibly have been there (or any British Open)? (I think so).

What do you say, will 4 stroke lead carry? I would guess not if the wind went into swirls. But isn't the threat of that usually in the middle of the day.

It seems that, since the British Open is televised here, it is played so super late in the evening that all is calmer as the leaders approach the last holes.

All I know is my own frame of reference. On average, with just stationary weather here, most mornings and evenings are calm. Midday is when the thermals miles and miles away cause enough breeze to rough up a huge body of water like Bull Shoals (again, miles and miles away from the thermals).

I played in '06 at Royal Liverpool and '07 at Carnoustie. Love the golf over there. Links golf is so unique.

Louis and Paul will both be very nervous. If Louis keeps driving the ball the way he is it will be tough to beat him with a four shot lead. His swing looks spot on. His rhythm never varied all day today. Definite sign he's got it in the slot.

Wind doesn't really swirl per se at the Open. It usually comes from one direction most of the day. It can change during the day, but you usually never get quick changes of wind direction like you can over here. No trees or drastic elevation changes to cause the wind to swirl around.

Could be exciting if Louis and Paul start leaking oil and the guys behind them make a few birdies. I'll be watching for sure.

Casey has the game for sure.I think he also has the experience and the crowd support to really put the pressure on. I don't think? Louis will just simply fold under the pressure. The SA boys are tough Man for such a small country we sure produce some golfers - Player,Els,Goosen,Clark,Immelman,Sabbatini. I follow a lot of sports and I had never heard of Oosterhuizen. I know pressure is a weird thing but up to now he has looked solid as can be.
Remember when Trevor lead the Masters wire to wire? Everybody said he would not be able to maintain it. Well..............?

Done nothing since but he sure as hell kept it all together when it mattered.

That was a display of final round domination. I thought with a couple of mistakes by Louis, Casey could get back into the mix. Oosterhuizen looked so solid.

Gotta give him props.

I was thinking while watching what it is with the South Africans that when they get that chance at a major they just somehow get the job done? Whereas the Brits just cannot seem to see it thru. Montgomerie,Casey,Westwood. They have all this poitical correctness in the schools now in the UK where there are no losers in school sports. They believe it destroys the kids self confidence. "You are all winners" Can you believe this cr@p?? I am certain that it is that mental toughness that is lacking. These SA winners, Els,Goosen Oosthuizen are not of English descent. THey are all Afrikaans (Dutch) and they come from farming stock. I grew up in SA. The guys are tough and farming is a tough way of life. Maybe that upbringing with that mental toughness has something to do with it. I mean it is simply astonishing that these farm boys from the middle of nowhere can win a golfing tournament on the biggest stage the world can create.
In reply to the interviewer now Oosthizen is saying that the great weather in SA has a lot to do with all the major winners coming out of SA. I think it is much more than that.There are so many really good players. At some stage it becomes mental and self belief.

Amo, what do you think?

I aint buying it. horrible coverage is due to high crosswinds, discolored turf, lack of trees and mountains and reference points???. Plenty of PGA tour events held in the desert, with high winds, no trees or ref. points etc. and the cameras can follow the balls every time.

Its gotta be the camera operators or the cameras themselves. Must be using those inferior UK technologies . Gotta be the only answer. I have watched the Open for the last 10 years and every year they cant follow the ball.

S Dub, but if you look at the courses here in the US, they're all nice and green and perfectly manicured. There is a distinct difference between the green of the fairway, which is usually stripe-mown, and the putting surfaces. Look at the US Open, this year at Pebble Beach. The greens were not a consistent green due to the Poana drying out. The cameras were not able to immediately locate the balls on the greens. There is also blimp coverage here in the US.

ESPN was in charge of the US broadcast for the Open, you don't think they have the resources to remedy any "inferior UK technologies"?

I was joking about the tech.

What I really think is the cause, and of course have no proof what so ever, is although ESPN does the coverage they have to use local people to man the cameras and do all the production stuff. Kinda like a union set up. They dont get to use the people from the states who normally do that stuff. Hence inferior coverage when compared to a PGA event.

The reason I think that is also, have you ever seen a Euro tour event on TV. very similar in quality to what we saw at the open. Def. non-American like quality coverage.

Chris, I am not sure what goes on in the UK schools but I will tell you after playing with Casey, Westwood, and Montgomerie they not lacking mental toughness. I believe that they are there own worst enemies at times putting too much pressure on themselves and not letting it happen but trying to force it to happen. Casey really had no choice but to press the issue to try and catch Louis. When you make mistakes on major championship courses you really pay the price.

The knock for years on GB&I golfers has been the inability to get it done in the majors, but with Padraig breaking through the pressure has been squarely put on the Brits no doubt. The last real gas I've seen from a brit in a major was Monty in '06 at winged foot. Par the last and he wins the US Open, he makes double. It was a foot note because of what Mickelson did on the last hole; double to lose. Both were equally tragic in my opinion.

S-dub, I'll give you the camera operators as the issue but not the cameras themselves. Those cameras are positioned 15-20ft off the ground in spots and to try and hold it steady in high crosswinds is difficult.